I’ve been living in Panama City, Panama, for the last few weeks and have noticed a lot of things while out running, that I thought I would share.
- Almost no one runs between 9am and 6pm.
- Even though the heat index is 90 with 70% humidity, I still occasionally see people exercise outside in sauna suits.
- I’m confident every runner/walker within a mile of Parque Omar goes there to workout. Luckily, I’m living right next to it. There is another popular biking/running/walking path along the ocean where people go. I believe 90% of runners in the entire city will be at these two locations.
- That is because it is very very difficult to run on sidewalks. There are often cars parked on it and it’s more often than not very broken up and inconsistent – more like trail running than road running. It’s simply too difficult and dangerous to run on the road/sidewalk/among traffic
- I almost got hit by a giant parrot while running, yesterday.
- Navigating while out on the sidewalks/roads is very difficult because there are only street signs about half the time. Luckily my building is super tall so I can see it from far away (yes, I’ve gotten lost and just ran towards my building off in the distance to get back)
- Living for a month in the city here has made me extremely grateful for the Black Hill’s weather, easy trail access, and great roads/sidewalks nearly everywhere. We’re certainly lucky to live where we do!